Recruiting: Young Levy weighs WSU option

BARRY BOLTON

08/16/2006

J.T. LEVENSELLER, son of WSU offensive coordinator Mike Levenseller, comes by his talent naturally and also might not be traveling too far for college -- he holds an offer from Bill Doba and the Cougs, his second. The 6-1, 185-pounder quarterbacked Pullman to the 2A title last year but his future may lie at a different position. And talk about Cougar ties, even his initials have a crimson hue.

The initials -- J.T. -- are no accident. They're in honor of his dad's close friend --- Jack Thompson --- who set a plethora of NCAA passing records during his Cougar career. The elder Levenseller, a record-setting receiver for the Cougars in the 1970s, was the Throwin' Samoan's favorite target.

In addition to Washington State, the younger Levenseller holds an offer from Eastern Washington. He's seeing the most interest this summer from those two plus Idaho, Montana, Montana State and Idaho State.

The Cougs see Levenseller as an athlete, with wide receiver a possible future position. Eastern has offered him as a quarterback. Many field generals when moving to the next level have a strong desire to remain under center. Levenseller said that's not the primary consideration for him.

"Honestly, it's more about getting to the next level and playing," he said. "I was excited to get the (WSU) offer."

Staying relatively close to home, the depth chart and prospects for earning playing time will all factor into his decision.

LEVENSELLER SAID he'll ask his dad for game film analysis, and they'll talk technique, but the mental aspects of the game are just as much a topic of conversation between father and son. Mike will enter his 15th season coaching at Washington State this year. J.T., not surprisingly, said he can't remember a time when he wasn't around the Cougar Football program.

"It's been great for me, to have your dad as a coach...to see the highs and also the lows of college football. To grow up in Pullman and to see WSU for the last 15 years has been great," he said.

Levenseller said he'll likely take a deliberate approach to recruiting, learning as much as he can about a number of schools and programs before coming to a decision. If he does decide on Washington State, J.T. said he'd relish the opportunity of playing for his dad.

"Me and him get along great," said Levenseller. "And I think it would just make me work that much harder."

A former member of the state champion Greyhounds and Levenseller target, Aaron Pflugrad, is now in Eugene after former WSU coach Robin Pflugrad took a post at Oregon earlier this year. The younger Pflugrad previously told CF.C he doesn't want to go to Oregon just because his dad coaches there, that if he becomes a Duck, he wants to earn it.

"I feel the exact same way," said Levenseller.

Given the offer that came with a Bill Doba handshake to J.T. shortly after WSU's camp ended, sounds like he's done just that.

J.T. was 89 of 165 passing for 1,906 yards and 29 TDs as a junior, earning second-team All-State honors for the 2A state champion Greyhounds. He's run a couple faster times in the 40 than his stated 4.65 but because those weren't timed by coaches, he doesn't consider them to be valid.